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Ben Parfitt's Articles

Someone at work said something to me the other day that struck me as very strange. We were discussing Full Spectrum Warrior, a game that I’ve been enjoying a lot recently. When I asked for his opinion he said that he didn’t enjoy it because there wasn’t a strong enough storyline to keep him interested. When I thought about I realised that I really couldn’t give a toss about the storyline of a game. It’s the control and the gameplay that really matters, to me at least.

It seems that at the moment the video games industry is desperate to be accepted as mainstream. Not that all gamers want gaming to become mainstream, not at all; the industry has grown phenomenally in last two decades and is worth untold amounts of money. But that’s why the industry craves recognition. It’s run by moneymen, and the money men realise that if they can get gaming as accepted as say movies or music, then every household in the developed world becomes a potential customer.

As you read this Atari’s Driv3r will have be in the shops and being played in homes across the world after it’s worldwide release. If you’ve played it already you’ll no doubt be aware that the game is a huge disappointment and certainly not the Grand Theft Auto beater that the hype may have had you believe. Folk out there playing the game will be aware of it, and judging by Atari’s actions over the last week they are also very aware of it.

Inevitably, as we all roll out of our beds in 2004 the games industry instinctively begins to speculate on the year ahead. Sony’s PSP and the Nintendo DS guarantee a fierce handheld battle in the run up to Christmas, but on the established formats there is one battle that is really going to let rip this year – the war of the padless game.

Two simple words – Electronic Arts. You can gauge what type of gamer you are by your reaction to the name. If you rejoice in celebration and bow in worship, you’re probably what we know as a ‘casual gamer’. If, however, you curl your toes in disgust then you may be more of a ‘hardcore gamer’. One thing is certainly true – EA divides opinion like no other company other than maybe Nintendo.

I want to discuss something today that isn’t necessarily games related as such, but I think is a factor that as purchasers of games we should be aware of. Over here in the UK there’s a guy on TV called Derren Brown. You may know him in the States and across the world, I don’t know. He’s one of these modern day magicians; the sort that call themselves ‘illusionists’ because pulling rabbits out of hats is no longer cool.

This is an article for you younger gamers out there, but even you oldies can take note. I remember what it was like when I was a wee nipper (as we call it here in Britain). I’d read the odd magazine and drooled over what seemed amazing new releases for the Megadrive/Genesis and SNES. I would have loved to own them all but seeing as my only income was the pocket money given to me by my parents, purchases were few and far between and had to be very carefully selected.

With another E3 now behind us I find it difficult not to spend much of my time thinking about the future of the games industry. Does the future look any different now than it did pre E3? Not really, but if nothing else the Los Angeles event has certainly solidified a few truths. In the coming year the battle for gaming supremacy seems as if it’s going to be fought on a new front – the realm of innovation.

It’s unbelievable to think that only 10 years ago the internet was nothing more than a curiosity. I remember my first experience of the net in my first year of university in 1997. We were all handed printed A4 guides to introduce us to this new technological marvel by the IT department. I loaded up Netscape and found my way onto Yahoo. The first thing I searched for? Spiderman. Why, I couldn’t say? A few hours later I’d browsed a couple of Transformers fan sites and checked out some porn with my neighbour. It was a fun afternoon, for sure, but it was a few years before I realised just how useful, no actually – vital, that internet thingy was to become.

Decisions. They’re something we face all the time in our day-to-day lives. When we wake up in the morning, we decide what to wear, what breakfast to have, whether to have tea of coffee before we leave for work. Do we obey or break the speed limit on the journey in? Do we pretend to like the boss when we see him at the office or sneer at them embodying the utter disdain we actually hold them in?